Domani alle 21.30 al Miela, i GoGo Penguin da Manchester, portano la loro musica fatta di sequenze e progressioni di piano, mescolate con le profonde linee jazzy di basso e la ritmica di batteria ispirata all’elettronica più innovativa. Dopo aver riscosso successo già con il primo album “Fanfares” del 2012, nel 2014 “v2.0” è stato nominato album dell’anno ai Barclaycard Mercury Prize Awards. Hanno suonato in giro per il mondo, collaborato con il noto coreografo Lynn Page e composto una colonna sonora per il film di culto “Koyaanisqatsi” di Godfrey Reggio. A febbraio hanno pubblicato il terzo disco, “Man Made Object” per la prestigiosa etichetta Blue Note, un album che vuole definire la loro ricerca di ricostruire acusticamente e umanizzare una dimensione artificiale o robotica.
Il pianista Chris Illingworth, racconta: «Come il precedente, anche “Man Made Object” è un’istantanea di quello che siamo ora. Il titolo è in parte ispirato alla mia fascinazione per la robotica, ricreiamo musica elettronica con strumenti acustici, come un robot che si è umanizzato. Ci spingiamo sempre oltre, spostando i limiti di quello che possiamo realizzare con gli strumenti, in un processo continuo. Ci sono similitudini tra questo disco e “v2.0” ma anche differenze, a volte nell’approccio alla composizione, il modo in cui improvvisiamo e usiamo gli effetti, sia elettronici che acustici».
Avete firmato con la Blue Note Records.
«Quando abbiamo saputo che volevano metterci sotto contratto è stato strepitoso. Siamo molto orgogliosi di far parte di un’etichetta-icona, assieme ad una nuova generazione di validi artisti del loro roster».
Come sta andando il tour?
«Molto bene. Siamo spesso stanchi per tutti gli spostamenti, ma abbiamo fatto dei concerti splendidi e memorabili quest’anno. Abbiamo avuto la fortuna di esibirci davanti a delle folle davvero entusiaste, ricordo le date a New York, Tokyo, Parigi e Londra, per nominarne alcune. E poi Manchester che è per noi casa e quindi speciale. Ottime date anche in Belgio, a Bruxelles è stato toccante: abbiamo suonato a pochi giorni dai tremendi attentati. È stato importante per noi ed il pubblico ha apprezzato che non avessimo cancellato le date».
E l’Italia?
«Abbiamo suonato l’anno scorso all’Umbria Jazz Festival e siamo contenti di tornarci, anche per il cibo e il vino. Della scena musicale conosciamo Digi G’Alessio – Clap! Clap! (dj e producer di Firenze ndr)».
Cosa si deve aspettare il pubblico del Miela?
«Noi ci mettiamo tutto quel che abbiamo, poi il concerto lo fa anche il pubblico. C’è una connessione tra band e audience, uno scambio di energia. È un’esperienza comune che cambia molto da concerto a concerto».
In campo artistico cosa vi ha colpito di recente?
«Abbiamo ascoltato i nuovi album dei Radiohead, Death Grips e Tonbruket. Ho anche letto un gran libro di racconti di Alice Sheldon che scrive sotto il nome di James Tiptree Jr e ho scoperto l’arte di Alexa Meade».
Prossime mosse?
«Con l’impegno del tour è impossibile lavorare a nuovo materiale. Ma tra un po’ faremo una pausa e cominceremo a ragionare al prossimo album. Ci è stato anche commissionato, per il prossimo anno, di comporre musica ispirata al lavoro di Basil Kirchin per le celebrazioni dell’Hull’s Capital of Culture».
Elisa Russo, Il Piccolo 11 Maggio 2016
GoGo Penguin interview
Answers by Chris Illingworth, GoGo Penguin
1. How is the tour going? And where have you had the best reaction from the public?
The tour is going really well thanks. We’re often very tired by all of the travelling but we’ve had some amazing gigs this year. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where we’ve had the best reaction. We’ve been really fortunate to play to some really enthusiastic crowds already this year and there’s been so many memorable gigs. New York was a great gig, Tokyo was a great reaction, Paris and London are always good to name but a few. I think Manchester because it’s our hometown is always special for us. We also have had some great gigs in Belgium. The last one in Brussels felt particularly poignant as we performed only a few days after the horrific attacks. I think it was important for us to play that gig and the crowd were really appreciative that we didn’t cancel. It felt important to us to still do that gig.
2. You’ll be playing in Trieste, Italy. What do you know about Italy and do you know of any Italian artists/bands?
We have played in Italy once before at Umbria Jazz Festival last year and we’re looking forward to coming back. We know Italy has great food and wine so we’re very excited about that. As far as Italian bands, we do like a guy called Didi G’Alessio who goes by the artist name of Clap! Clap!
3. What can you tell me about your new album “Man Made Object”?
As with the previous albums, our new album Man Made Object is just a snapshot of who we are right now. We’re always pushing ourselves and the limits of what we can do with our instruments as a band and this is a continuation of that process. There are definitely similarities between this album and v2.0 – we haven’t suddenly become a completely different band – but there are differences, sometimes in the way we approached the composition of the music, the way we improvise within the tracks and we played around more with effects, both electronic and acoustic. We’ve done a lot of gigging together since v2.0 and that has definitely played a role in shaping the form and sound of the new album.
4. How will you recreate the sound of the cd on stage?
The album was recorded live with just a few post production techniques so it’s not something that we have to worry about. We play all of the tunes together in a room when we record it’s not like we multi track it or do it in layers so it’s not a problem for us.
5. What can fans expect to see at your Trieste show at Teatro Miela on May 12th? What experience or impact would an audience member take away from your live show?
It really depends on the individual on how the music impacts them. As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been fortunate to play to some very enthusiastic crowds this year. We put everything we can into our live performances and find that concerts are a two way thing. There is an unspoken connection between the band and the audience, we feed off each other’s energy and the atmosphere. That communal experience can be so different from gig to gig.
6. What goals do you have with your music and its impact on the world?
We just write the music that comes to us at that moment and time and let people make what they want of it.
7. You’ve signed a multi-album deal with Blue Note Records, the most famous jazz label on earth. How do you feel about it?
Obviously we were blown away when they said they wanted to sign us. It makes us feel very proud to be part of such an iconic label and the new generation of artists that they have on their roster.
8. What’s catching your attention in the media these days? Books? Movies? Art? Television?
The last couple of weeks have been great for new music, we’ve been checking out new albums by Radiohead, Death Grips and Tonbruket. I’ve also been reading a great book of short stories by Alice Sheldon who wrote under the name James Tiptree Jr and have recently found out about the art of Alexa Meade. It’s difficult to describe her work, she makes incredible scenes by painting on live figures, definitely worth checking out.
9. What’s next? [You have important collaborations (a score for Godfrey Reggio’s cult film Koyaanisqatsi and a collaboration with noted choreographer Lynn Page)]… There’s something else in the future? Any plans beyond touring?
With the touring schedule being so busy recently it’s been pretty much impossible to find the time to work on anything new for a while but we have got a break coming up soon. It’s going to be great to start developing new ideas and seeing where things might go for the next album. We’re also working on a commission for next year writing new music inspired by the work of Basil Kirchin as part of Hull’s Capital of Culture celebrations and I’m sure there’ll be other surprises down the line.
